The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued a guidance note on the removal of trans-fatty acids to make stakeholders aware about the sources, types, impact on health and regulations related to it.
The issued guidance note also instructs food manufacturers to get their products tested for trans fats and if the food products are trans fat free, i.e. not more than 0.2g per 100g of food; it is advisable for the manufacturers to use trans fat free logo on the product label.
The FSSAI note also includes plans for elimination of trans fats from diets and supply chain in terms of suggestions for oil manufacturers, chefs, halwais, bakeries, food manufacturers, and consumers. Moreover, according to the advisory note, adopting modern technology can aid in the elimination of industrial trans fats fats/oils and several manufacturers have already switched to newer technologies for the same.
The guidance note also mentions technologies like inter-esterfication, selection of raw material and binding options, monitoring and modifying hydrogenation process & deodorisation process, as measures the FBOs can adopt to limit or eliminate the trans fats from the supply chain. Also, a detailed purchase strategy was also mentioned in the note for the professionals.
The note advises professionals like chefs and bakeries etc. to buy only packaged oil with declared nutrition value for trans fats and prefer such fats/oil which are trans fat free or less than 2 percent trans fat content. If possible, the professionals were also instructed to request for a certificate of analysis from the manufacturers.
The food authority has devised the strategy to phase out industrially manufactured trans fats from the diet by 2022, citing the health risks connected with their intake.
